As the Emmy-winning series 'Hacks' gears up for its much-anticipated fourth season, dive into our comprehensive recap video featuring the stellar cast: Jean Smart as the legendary comedian Deborah Vance, Hannah Einbinder as her sharp-witted writer Ava Daniels, and Paul W. Downs as the ever-resourceful manager Jimmy LuSaque Jr.
We’re diving into their ever-evolving power struggles, unexpected alliances, and the jaw-dropping Season 3 finale that left Ava and Deborah at odds like never before. Whether you're a longtime fan or just hopping on the Hacks hype train, this must-watch breakdown ensures you’re primed and ready for the drama, comedy, and late-night ambition of Season 4.
We’re diving into their ever-evolving power struggles, unexpected alliances, and the jaw-dropping Season 3 finale that left Ava and Deborah at odds like never before. Whether you're a longtime fan or just hopping on the Hacks hype train, this must-watch breakdown ensures you’re primed and ready for the drama, comedy, and late-night ambition of Season 4.
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00:00I can't spoil a thing. I'll just say that.
00:02Oh my god.
00:03I think it depends on who you ask.
00:05If you ask some people, they will.
00:07And if you ask others, they won't.
00:09No, they won't.
00:11We'll see.
00:12We are the cast of Hacks.
00:13And we are here to get you up on Seasons 1, 2, and 3.
00:16Ahead of Season 4.
00:18Previously on Hacks.
00:21So Hacks is a show about legendary stand-up comedian Debra Vance,
00:25played brilliantly by Jean Smart,
00:27who has a Las Vegas residency that is waning when we meet her.
00:31And to freshen up her career,
00:34she is forced to hire an outcast comedy writer named Ava Daniels,
00:39played brilliantly by Hannah Einbinder.
00:42And the show is basically about their dark mentorship
00:45and the ways in which they crack each other open
00:47and set each other on a path to redemption.
00:51And crack each other up.
00:52And crack each other up.
00:53Yes.
00:53There's a lot of jokes.
00:54And it says, my act was not winning.
00:56It was taken away by a bitter ex-lover.
00:58There we go.
00:59There we go.
00:59Okay.
01:00You heard it here first.
01:01Okay?
01:02She fixed it.
01:05Debra Vance is a comedy legend
01:07who's about to lose her long-running Las Vegas residency at the Palmetto.
01:11You'll always be a part of the Palmetto's history.
01:14But maybe it'd be good if you did a few less shows a year.
01:19Good for who?
01:20So, her manager enlists recently cancelled Gen Z writer Ava Daniels to liven up Debra's material.
01:27I'm not that desperate.
01:28Respectfully, as your manager, right now you are that desperate.
01:33When the two meet, they cannot stand each other.
01:36They go back and forth until, finally, Debra gives in and hires Ava after she hurls an
01:41impressive insult at Debra.
01:43Before I leave, did you want to inspect my bag?
01:45Maybe I should just piss in a cup.
01:47Uh, you know what?
01:48I'm going to go ahead.
01:49I'm just going to leave a stool sample on your lawn.
01:52Ha ha ha!
01:53Let's fast forward.
01:55Do you know the British show, The Bitter End?
01:57Yeah, it's so good.
01:58Why?
01:59So the creators are making a new show, and I told them all about you and your experience
02:03in Las Vegas, and they want to meet you, girlfriend.
02:06Oh my god, what?
02:08Ava's offered a writing gig on the series, and she flies back to L.A. to take the interview,
02:12but then she has a change of heart after they joke about her being able to draw from her lived
02:16experience of working for a terrible boss.
02:18That's what the show's about, just some sh**ty woman?
02:21What?
02:22It's a well-observed character study.
02:24It is, yeah.
02:25Of a sh**ty woman.
02:26Ava returns, only to discover that Debra knows about the interview, and she's so mad
02:31that she does literally slap Ava across the face.
02:35Ava quits, obviously.
02:36I quit, obviously.
02:38Obviously.
02:39Obviously.
02:40She flies back to L.A. again, and spins the block on that writing gig, offering intel
02:45about what it was like to work for Debra.
02:47How sharper than a serpent's tooth.
02:49During that time, Ava's dad passes away, and Debra shows up to the funeral, and at a
02:55very stiff and quiet eulogy, where no one is offering stories or memories, Debra decides
03:01to take the stage.
03:02Sir, how did you know Dennis?
03:04He was my cousin.
03:05So, what was the drunkest you ever saw him?
03:08She actually makes Ava laugh in a time that she really needed it.
03:11And the two make amends, and Debra tells Ava that she bombed in Vegas on the show they
03:16worked on, but she loved it.
03:18She just needs to go on the road to work it out.
03:21With, hopefully, Ava by her side, helping her write more honest, authentic, and updated
03:27material.
03:28So, Ava is boarding Debra's private jet to return to Vegas, when her manager Jimmy, played
03:33by moi, calls to confront her, because word on the street is she has sent a very problematic
03:39email, a very damaging, telling email about Debra, to the producers of this new series.
03:44So, now, the only thing standing between Ava and her job with Debra is airplane mode.
03:49Okay, so airplane mode is off, and it is on when Debra finds out about Ava's treacherous
03:58email.
03:59While the drama is unfolding, Debra loses her residency at the Palmetto to a gentleman called
04:06M.C. Ludwig, which is tough, obviously, really humiliating.
04:10Yeah.
04:11Ava's guilt is sort of rising to the surface.
04:14It all comes to a head when Ava and Debra are in Sedona, Arizona, on the road, and Ava
04:21confesses.
04:22I said some unkind things about you that I don't even believe, because I was hurt and angry.
04:29I'm sorry.
04:30And that causes Debra to react in a way that's physically violent.
04:35Oh!
04:36Oh!
04:37Ew!
04:38I'm a crystal!
04:39Dish!
04:40Ow!
04:41And she does hurl love gems sort of across.
04:43Chose.
04:44Mm.
04:45There are little stones and crystals that talk about friendship and love and loyalty.
04:50They were made out of rubber.
04:51Yeah, some of them are made out of rubber.
04:53Some of us think it.
04:54It's a funny place to break down, right?
04:55Really funny.
04:56A zen crystal shop?
04:57Really funny.
04:58Yeah, seriously.
04:59All those good vibes.
05:00Yeah.
05:01Yeah.
05:02Move somewhere else.
05:03This time, Debra skips firing Ava and ups the ante by suing her.
05:07Wait, what?
05:08You're suing me?
05:09Oh, I can't discuss details of the case.
05:11That's her love language.
05:12All this, yes, while they're on tour together.
05:14Litigation is her love language.
05:16Yes, completely.
05:17This is all going down while they're on tour together.
05:19Eventually, they, of course, make up again.
05:21Again?
05:22Yes.
05:23While they're on the road, Ava's devastated when she loses her father's ashes.
05:26Have you seen a tennis ball canister?
05:28It was in my backpack and it's really important.
05:29Yeah, I threw that out.
05:30What?
05:31Yeah, just some dirt in a tennis ball canister.
05:33It was rolling around the bus, so I tossed it.
05:35That dirt was my dad.
05:36And seeing her in this state, Debra realizes just how much she cares about Ava and literally
05:41goes dumpster diving with Ava to help her find the canister of dad's ashes.
05:46Which I believe Gene did, even though we said, we'll cut to you in there.
05:49I think she did leap into a dumpster.
05:50She did.
05:51She did.
05:52Debra begins touring with her new and much more honest set, revealing stories about herself
05:56and her life that she never shared publicly.
05:58I mean, the truth behind setting her ex-husband's garage on fire, putting her work before relationships,
06:03how hard she worked to be a good mother and failed miserably often.
06:09I think my favorite story about that was that she had a job on the East Coast when it was
06:13time for her daughter on the West Coast to have her parent-teacher conference at school.
06:17Mm-hmm.
06:18And so she sent her drag impersonator to the parent-teacher conference.
06:23It almost worked.
06:27Debra decides she wants to make this set a comedy special, which she will bankroll herself.
06:32The taping of the special is not only a huge success, but she ends up selling thousands
06:36of copies of it on QVC.
06:38This is a record for units sold in under five minutes.
06:41Wow.
06:42We are on track to sell out, ladies and gentlemen.
06:45We're getting into slanket territory.
06:47Despite their shared success, Debra decides to fire Ava.
06:50What?
06:51You're not serious.
06:52I am.
06:53Not wanting to hold Ava back from some of the great opportunities that will undoubtedly
06:56be coming her way.
06:57And also, she does feel that she's getting a little close to this young writer.
07:01And she's also being a little self-protective.
07:03She's sort of avoidant for those who have read the book Attached.
07:09You need to make space for your own work.
07:11Come on.
07:12I know what you're doing.
07:13You're pushing me away because you're afraid.
07:14No.
07:15It was totally selfless.
07:16I was just doing it for you.
07:18Okay.
07:19Well, agree to disagree.
07:21Not only does Debra fire Ava, but she ends the lawsuit and makes a clean cut from their
07:26relationship, confirming there won't be any more contact between the two of them.
07:30Horrible.
07:31Ava's, of course, devastated by this professional breakup, as well as what seems like the end
07:35of their personal friendship, and everyone is left on an emotional cliffhanger.
07:41Okay, so season three begins with Debra and Ava living their best lives, or so it seems.
07:47Despite both of their booming careers and Ava's sort of new love interest, neither of them
07:52is content.
07:53There is this sort of void for both of them, because let's face it, they miss each other.
07:57Right.
07:58But as fate would have it, they reunite in an elevator.
08:04They agree to work together, but only after Ava sets some boundaries.
08:07Let's give it up for some growth.
08:09Important.
08:10And shout out to Kiki for inspiring that.
08:13Encouraging that.
08:14Debra gets another taste of her dream job when she very randomly guest hosts a late night show.
08:19So fun.
08:20And then she has a shot at taking over permanently.
08:23So that's what she's kind of pursuing for the rest of the season.
08:26But first, Ava has to fire the two new writers that Debra replaced her with.
08:32But also they were Ava's former coworkers.
08:34So that's really awkward.
08:36Quite.
08:37Quite brutal.
08:38Like any hot celeb of the moment, Debra gets her own roast.
08:42Her daughter DJ kills it, making her mom so proud.
08:46My mom is always collecting antiques.
08:49I'm like, bitch, you are an antique.
08:51What a .
08:53Debra also meets one of the comedians, Jack Danby, who charms the socks off of her.
08:58But, plot twist, turns out he's her competition for the late night host job.
09:03But in an effort to secure the late night host spot, Debra attends a charity golf tournament
09:08with network execs and sparks fly when she meets with Bob Lipka, one of the most esteemed
09:13and powerful and cute execs.
09:16They end up sleeping together, which gives Debra major guilt considering her own husband cheated on her
09:21and she vowed she would never be the other woman.
09:25Oh yeah, by the way, he's married.
09:27Fair enough.
09:28Unfortunately, even after the golf tournament tryst, Debra discovers that the network has given the late night spot
09:33to her younger male rival, Jack Danby.
09:36Jimmy, Lussac Jr., her manager, and his chaotic Nepo Baby assistant, Kayla Schaefer,
09:42realize there still could be a way to get Debra onto that late night show and Jack Danby out of the running.
09:47His dream is to star in a Fatty Arbuckle biopic.
09:52So they work their magic to secure the life rights and Jack Danby leaps at the chance to do drama,
09:57leaving the door open for Debra to achieve her late night show dreams, almost.
10:02So right when the show seems closer than ever, some offensive material from Debra's past resurface
10:07in a compilation video that starts circulating.
10:09Debra Vance.
10:10Love her.
10:11I guess someone made a supercut of all her shitty racist jokes.
10:14What?
10:15Just when she's visiting a college campus and being shadowed by a reporter.
10:20Debra tries to appeal to the college kids to make it all go away,
10:24but she ultimately takes Ava's advice to just own up to it, take responsibility, and apologize.
10:31With Jack Danby now focusing on acting, the network finally gives the late night show to Debra.
10:36I got, I got late night.
10:38What?
10:39What?
10:40Oh my God!
10:41Oh my God!
10:42Oh my God!
10:43But now it's time for her to pick a head writer, which Ava assumes will be her.
10:47And Debra tells her that the network wants someone with more experience.
10:52But when Ava runs into the network president, she learns that they told Debra she could hire whoever she wants.
10:58Chaos is building.
11:00Chaos will ensue.
11:01Ava confronts Debra with the lie in a very, very emotional showdown.
11:06You actually made me cry in that scene.
11:08I'm not asking for the business or the world to be fair.
11:13I am asking for you to treat me fairly because you owe me that.
11:20Stop crying.
11:21This is just the way it is.
11:23Debra is shocked to see Ava waiting for her during her first network meeting,
11:27and even more shocked when Ava blackmails Debra for the head writer job,
11:32threatening to reveal that Debra slept with the head of the network prior to landing the late night job.
11:37Scandal.
11:38I think I am your head writer after all.
11:40There's an argument to be made that it is worse when someone who is more innocent turns bad.
11:46Mmm.
11:47Because Debra you expect that behavior from.
11:49Exactly.
11:51So perhaps it is sadder and thus worse that Ava has that turn.
11:57Though one might argue that by handcuffing herself to Debra, Ava's doing what's best for the show,
12:04and thusly best for Debra Sue.
12:06So maybe it's partly selfless even though it's also ambitious and selfish.
12:12Perfect, it's Debra.
12:14No, no, it's Ava because she's taking extremely personal information and threatens to make that public.
12:20There's nothing worse than that.
12:21She wouldn't have done that if she wasn't lied to.
12:22Nothing worse than that.
12:23You know what I mean?
12:24Feels like she had a reason.
12:25Nope.
12:26Feels like she had a reason.
12:27Nope.
12:28It's you.
12:29It's you.
12:30It's her.
12:31It's her.
12:32And that's everything you need to know ahead of season four of Hacks.
12:37It's her.
12:38It's her.
12:39It's her.
12:40It's her.
12:41It's her.